Page 36 - Amo Amass A-muse is some of the fruit of a lifetimes love of Freemasonry - the Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235

36 Amo Amass A-Muse - Lodge of the Nine Muses

Ruspini now made doubly certain that the ‘Hawks’ would never raise their heads
again. Not being satisfied with his Royal connections, he turned our Lodge into a
Rally Point for the ‘Doves’. As a first step, he obtained -the control of two Grand
Stewardships through which alone Grand Officers could be appointed in those days.
Then, no less than eleven Whig Noblemen and their relations joined us. A ‘Pride of
Noblemen’ indeed, had there been so many in any Lodge before? It is significant
that as many as seven of them were descended from Past Grand Masters. Qualified
Noblemen were usually appointed Grand Wardens and ours seemed to be in a hurry
to be, thus increasing the influence of the ‘Doves’ in Grand Lodge. I would like to tell
you more about them on some future occasion.
H.R.H. the Duke of Cumberland again intimated his willingness to become
Grand Master, but Ruspini was not to be caught a second time. As R.W.M. of the
St. Alban’s Lodge, he canvassed that Lodge to support the candidature of Earl Ferrers,
then a member of our Lodge, in case the Duke again changed his mind, and arranged
for one of our members to propose him. However, this time the Duke did accept and
appointed the Earl of Effingham, another of our members, as his Acting (now Pro)
Grand Master.
The ‘Doves’ were now in a strong position and Ruspini turned to in-fluencing
thoughts in the ways of Charity and Peace and to prepare the stage for Union. Our
Lodge together with Nine of its members was one of the first to contribute to the
Hall Fund, giving additional votes in Grand Lodge, and Ruspini started work to
obtain support to found his Girls School. From about 1787, despite the Rule against
it, several Grand Officers of the Rival Ancient Lodge began to join Lodges under the
Premier Grand Lodge whilst Ruspini joined their Grand Master’s Lodge. James Jones,
a Past Senior Grand Warden of the Ancients and the proprietor of a Circus, joined us
in 1797.
In 1795, in Canada, H.R.H. the Duke of Kent was asked to use his influence to
unite the two rival Grand Lodges. This was reported in the Freemasons’ Magazine
with many flourishes and Capital letters. Our Secretary was then the Proprietor of
that magazine.
But that was not A. Ruspini was looking further into the future. Having saved
the life of H.R.H. The Prince of Wales by the use of his Styptic to stop bleeding,